The drama unfolded on the faded actor's Twitter feed where he was writing short missives in support of Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown. He followed that up by posting a scowling image of the First Lady with the comment "WOW He wakes up to this every morning."

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Within minutes, some Twitter followers began attacking Baio, 48, with some calling him racist and others making more ominous threats.

"Easy to find your house Scottie boy and finish YOU," one follower wrote. "I am a republican and I love Mrs O." Another tweeted "YOU Scott Baio should be PUT DOWN and someone will PUT YOU DOWN.YOU;your WIFE and KID"

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The postings spooked Baio who said he had sent the offending tweets to the FBI and has "a file number for the threats."

At the same time, he defended himself against the racism charges, trotting out the line that his wife's best friend is black and that the whole thing was a joke.

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"For New followers: I POST A LOT OF JOKES WITH PICS," Baio wrote. "They are JUST that, a joke. NOT targeting anyone. Laughter IS the best medicine."

He also claimed the controversy caused his following to spike to 5000 because "people love to hate."

According to Fox News, the FBI was not aware of Baio's complaint and a spokesperson for the former teen heart throb declined comment.